Dinesh Karthik on the pressure Pujara and Rahane are facing after another poor set of scores in 1st India vs New Zealand Test

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will be upset with their performances on Day 1 of the first India-New Zealand Test, according to wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik. Both senior players were undone by poor shot selection against pace bowling, which works against them as they prepare for the vital South African tour.

Karthik believes that Pujara and Rahane are under more pressure from the outside because of their recent string of bad performances and lack of huge scores. The pair kept their places after playing some good cricket in the final stages of the England tour.

Suryakumar Yadav

They are, however, far from immune, particularly with players like Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav on the bench.

“I think they would be disappointed and there’s no doubt about it. Obviously, there’s talk outside about them that they need to score hundreds because they haven’t for some time. So with every match, the pressure seems to increase.” Karthik said

“Obviously, because Test match is played sporadically they are not under the spotlight as often, because there’s been a lot more white-ball cricket with the World Cup and the T20Is against NZ. But once Test cricket starts with full tilt again, every time they don’t score runs, they’ll come under the spotlight, so to say in a negative way. And with every game voices from outside seem to get louder.” Tamil Nadu batsman added

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer made a good case for himself in his first innings for India with a composed fifty. With Virat Kohli as captain ensuring a spot in the middle order, Pujara and Rahane must score runs if they are to keep their spots in the playing XI.

Despite the fact that Pujara and Rahane’s prospects seem grim, Karthik believes Rahul Dravid is the best person to bring them back on track. The duo’s defensive instincts haven’t been as sharp as they were in their prime.

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